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Dozen Year War
The Dozen Year War was a major conflict between the League of Antar and the Unified Kingdom of Tierra. Begun in the wake of the death of the Tierran King, Antar sought use the war to avenge previous losses and slights at the Unified Kingdom's hands, resulting in the near destruction of Tierra and humiliation of Antar , Lt.-general of the Expeditionary Forces Arthur d'al Havenport, Duke of Havenport, general-of-infantry brigade and later Lt.-general of the Expeditionary Forces Sir Johannes d'al Findlay, Duke of Cunaris(WIA), commander-in-chief of cavalry and later general-of-infantry brigade Louis d'al Englessey, Earl of Castermaine, general-of-infantry brigade Lord Tomas d'al Eldridge, Baron of Tourbridge , general-of-infantry brigade Lt.-Col Sir Louis-Auguste d'al Palliser, later general-of-cavalry brigade, Viscount Palliser of Kharangia (victory Title awarded after the Second Battle of Kharangia) |commanders2 = Prince Mikhail of Khorobirit Prince Ivan of Jugashavil Prince Konstantin of Norobirit Prince Andrei of Norobirit |forces1 = 18,000 at start of war 45,000 at war's end |forces2 = Various • 50, 000 at height |casual1 = 55,000-70,000 estimate losses throughout the war |casual2 = 15,000+ KIA 10,000+ WIA 25,000+ POWs |civilian = 400,000- 1,000,000 Antari}} Background Still stewing after their defeat during King Alaric's War, the League Congress sought to use the recent death of Edmund IV to force King Miguel, an inexperienced boy of sixteen, to agree to a series of demands that would once again reduce Tierra to a state of de-facto Antari vassalage. Backing up their demand with the threat of war, the League was confident that the newly crowned Miguel would give in to avoid conflict. However, in a surprise turn of events, Miguel instead rejected the Antari demands and began readying his nation for war. Opening Moves The League quickly demonstrated that its threats were far from empty, declaring war in late 601 and setting the country abuzz with preparations for war. During these preparations, the legacy of the last war with Antar proved to be a mixed blessing. While the victory in King Alaric's War left Tierra with unquestioned naval superiority, the Antari navy and merchant marine had yet to recover from their near annihilation, meaning that another purely naval conflict wasn't a possibility, and forcing Miguel to commit to an invasion of the Antari mainland. Much like the decision to go to war in the first place, this course was not without controversy. Tierra hadn't fought a land war in nearly a century. and her army was woefully unprepared for the kind of high-intensity campaign an invasion of the Calligian continent would require. Nonetheless, Miguel was unwilling to be dissuaded, and so an expedition under the personal command of the Duke of Wulfram was quickly mounted to seize the small port-town of Noringia on Antar's southern coast. Despite sustaining heavy losses in the process, the town was taken in the first attempt, and the king responded by ordering at least three regiments of infantry one of horse be deployed to reinforce the beachhead in Antar by Summer's end. In response to this Tierran incursion, the League began assembling an army strong enough to throw the King's Army back into the sea. By Autumn this force was ready, and an army 14,000 strong began marching down from the Central Plains to retake Noringia. Unwilling to simply wait for this force to reach Noringia, Wulfram took the initiative and sallied forth into the Great Forest with 6,000 men to face the Antari host. Despite the superior drill and equipment of the Tierran soldiery, the Duke decided against risking a pitched battle and instead sought to isolate and destroy the individual enemy columns, whittling their force down until nothing remained. Over the course of twelve days, this strategy proved devastatingly effective, culminating in Wulfram accepting the surrender of the last vestige of the enemy host-a mere 4,500 survivors-70 kilometers outside Noringia. Unfortunately, this victory did little to lessen the effects of the first winter in Antar. By the time the spring thaws came thousands on both sides would be dead from the cold or the sicknesses it brought with it. In the meantime however, the Duke of Wulfram made the decision to bypass the fortified port city of Kharangia. This resulted in the River Kharan being designated the main line of defence on the western front. With this increase in importance came a surge of men sent to reinforce the existing garrisons, along with detachments of Engineers to fortify and expand the Tierran outposts. Shortly afterwards, reports began filtering in of a second army assembling in the northwest. This army was fully assembled by the summer of 603, formed again like its predecessor in Octobirit, and numbered around 18,000 Antari. They had similar intentions as the year before, aiming to retake Noringia from Tierran control, though the objective was considerably more difficult due to the time the Tierrans had to prepare. Back in mainland Tierra, the Earl of Weathern, who holds the title Deputy Privy Councillor for War, proposed to King Miguel to offer the Antari Congress favourable peace terms coupled with the payment of a face-saving level of war reparations, to save both countries more losses and economic dismantlement. The proposal for such a negotiation was dismissed, out of hand. By the Autumn season, Wulfram's counter to the Antari forces succeeds in their aims to split the army into three parts. The split Antari were then forced into battle with separate Tierran forces and thoroughly destroyed through a tactic similar to the previous years, over a period of two weeks. The summer of 604 brought political tension in the Cortes of Tierra. The King had requested the lords of the Cortes to grant an additional 2,000,000 crowns per annum (annually) to the military budget, for the purpose of maintaining Tierran forces present in Antar. The proposal passed, albeit by a slim margin. With the security of his army intact and funded, during autumn the Duke of Wulfram leads a reconnaissance-in-force into the Central Plains of Antar, burning sixteen villages in the process and disrupting the harvest in the region, providing the first conflict of the plains a success to the Tierrans. The Antari diplomatic envoys to the Convocation of the Orders-Militant put forward a motion to excommunicate the Unified Kingdom of Tierra and declare the Pariah-Among-Nations, though this is never followed through, and is one of the first attempts of Antari envoys to gain foreign support. Back on mainland Tierra, Royal Tierran Intelligence submits a report that Prince Mikhail of Khorobirit in the north has demanded that the League Congress supply him with authority enough to recruit fighting men from the holdings of all of Congress' lords, to lead them against the Tierrans and "throw them into the sea." Whilst his attempt gains a vast majority of Congressional support, the proposal is vetoed by one of the Prince's personal rivals. As a knock-on effect to Wulfram's reconnaissance-in-force and subsequent Tierran raids, Central Antar is hit by a severe famine in the winter, creating a death toll that peaked at 75,000 by the beginning of spring, 605. After another winter passed, the Cortes voted, in the spring of 605, to raise a tax on pewter bowls and plates as a way to maintain the war in Antar. The state coffers, once having possessed an abundance of 30,000,000 crowns, is now empty. By Autumn, the Antari envoys to the Court of the Sun and Heavens of Kian'Zi push for their support against the Tierrans steadily moving further inland, and envoys to the Richensaat of Takara do the same. In the spring of 606, the Antari began adopting similar tactics to the Tierrans, mounting major raid into Tierran-held territory using forces comprised of one to two hundred men. The Convocation of the Orders-Militant finally vote, nearly two years after the Antari put forward the proposal, on whether to declare Tierra Pariah-Among-Nations, though the proposal is defeated by a slim margin. In the summer, Royal Intelligence reports indicates that a series of 'accidental deaths' had afflicted several known personal enemies of Prince Mikhail of Khorobirit, clearing the way for him to gain more power and influence without opposition in to the Congress. On the Tierran mainland, the Ministry of the Exchequer announces the government will be more than 2,500,000 crowns in debt by the end of 608, creating tension and worry among the Cortes lords. The Autumn brings with it a series of events. King Miguel presents the Duke of Wulfram with an ultimatum: end the war in Tierra's favour within the year, or face termination from military service. Alongside this sudden ultimatum, the King requests an additional three million crowns per annum from the Cortes to expand the Royal Army, to compensate for the losses in Antar. His proposal is voted down by a significant margin of three to one. The Throne's political position is growing dangerously precarious and unpopular. Riots also break out among Tannersburg over the rising cost of bread. Without the Antari imports, the price of grain has risen three-fold. Royal Intelligence submits another report on the activities of Prince Mikhail, who has gained the support of nearly two hundred Lords of the Congress for the purpose of building the army he proposed in 604. During this, Wulfram attempts another reconnaissance-in-force into the Central Plains, although this second attempts lacks the positive results of the first, as the strike force is intercepted by a similar Antari force of cavalry. A six day running battle commenced, resulting on heavy losses on both sides and no clear conclusive victor. During the winter season, the Earl of Weathern again proposes peace talks with the Antari that favours Tierra, though this time to an open session of the Cortes. Weathern's motion passes by a margin of seven votes, though is struck down by the King using his royal prerogative power to veto the motion, the first time a Tierran monarch has done so in thirty years. Battle of Blogia By Spring of 607OIE, the King's armed forces were at the height of its glory, the war had as well attracted the attentions from every fraction of the infinite sea: From the Imperial Court of Takara to the Northern Kingdoms had sent their envoys and observers to Antar for having a glimpse of the war itself. In response to the arrival of the envoys, the Duke of Wulfram had hold a reception in honour of their arrival. A few weeks after the reception, a troop of the Royal Dragoons which was sent to patrol the area North of Noringia had discovered the hordes of Prince Mikhail of Khorobirit with at least 80 banners and a massive number of Church Hussars. In response to the appearance of Khorobirit's army, the Duke of Wulfram mobilised the entire expeditionary armed forces North in hopes of crushing Khorobirit and end the war sooner than he could predict. Wulfram, who had countless experience back in his days decided to have the battle to take place at Blogia where the Tierran Expeditionary Forces would had the advantage over Khorobirit's army. Khorobirit however, had learnt Wulfram's tactics during the first 5 years of the war, was able to not only outwit Wulfram in the process, but killing Tierra's finest general in her history as well in the battle. Blogia, which was supposed to be the greatest victory that Tierra will ever see throughout her history had turned out to be the greatest military disaster she and her people had ever saw: with Wulfram killed in action, along with the Baron of Tourbridge, the Earl of Welles, the Viscount of Halford, Lt.-colonel Hunter and countless other officers were either killed, wounded or reported missing. The entire army had as well suffered immensely in the battle, suffering losses equal to 2 full brigades of infantry. After Blogia Six weeks after the defeat at Blogia, His Tierran Majesty, who was determined to win the war had decided to get things up on his hands had travelled to Antar, he immediately promoted the Duke of Havenport, who had taken command when Wulfram was confirmed killed at Blogia to councillor-militant and Lt.-general of his Expeditionary Forces, as well as awarding those who had acted with valour during the fighting retreat to higher commands and knighthoods. The King, in response to the losses that the army had suffered decided to undergo another list of conscription and stripping the marines off from the ships to replace the army's ranks. Weeks after His Tierran Majesty's arrival to Antar, Khorobirit started sending raiding parties to probe the Tierran defenses. The Duke of Havenport, in response by sending the hastily raised remnants of his cavalry to counter these raids in hopes of strengthen his newly appointed position as councilor-militant. By Autumn of 607, Khorobirit withdraws his army to the fortress of Januszkovil in order to shelter away from the gruelling winter. King Miguel, meanwhile ordered the temporary reinforcements to the army by having the men who served in the Royal Marine regiments to be transferred, such act would proved unpopular within the Admiralty, it is however, the effective way to replenish the losses the King's Armed Forces had suffered at Blogia with veteran troops. Back in the Tierran Isles, faced with the spectre of food riots which Tierra had faced before, the Cortes under the Earl of Weathern's lead, implemented a grain subsidy. With the Antari supply of grain being effectively cut off and facing the prospect of starvation, Tierran merchants started importing grains from Kian, Kian merchants in turn, see the prospect of earning a fortune didn't hesitate to raise the prices for exports to meet up the increasing demands. Shifting powers within the Cortes By summer of 608, the newly ascended Duke of Wulfram, Ewen d'al Candless who was still grieving for the death of his late father made his first appearance to the Cortes, and allied himself with the peace faction, such move had shifted the balance of power within the government into disarray. Grenadier Square on the other hand, has decided to commission a board of enquiry in order to investigate the reasons which led to the catastrophic defeat and near annihilation at Blogia. Siege of Kharangia By Spring 609 OIE, with all the preparations under the supervisions of KIng Miguel. The Tierran Expeditionary Forces launched their plans of offensive, with an army composed of nearly 20,000 mean strong. The army is splitted into two seperate commands with an army of nearly 12,000 men under King Miguel's direct command headed North towards Khorobirit's winter camp and to harass his forces, the second under the command of the newly Lt.-General Duke of Havenport is to besiege the port city of Kharangia. The siege at the beginning did not go well with most of the artillery pieces of the Royal Artillery were unable to create significant damages to Kharangia's wall. Over the next three weeks, Havenport continued the siege without much success until the Royal Artillery received a set of experimental mortars designed and assembled by GG&T under the secret orders of King Miguel. After a few weeks of continuous bombardment, the Duke of Havenport gives order to storm the breach and take the city with full force. The army suffered over 600 men dead and wounded during the storming of Kharangia, during the storming, soldiers of the army loses their discipline and sacked the city and slaughtered the populace within it. Arrival of the Takarans With news of the sacking of Kharangia had reached to the ears of various sovereignties within the infinite sea, the Imperial Court of Takara had decided to dispatch another observer to Antar to see if the Altrich should intervene the war. The candidate, Cassius vam Holt, is considered a controversial figure to represent Takara due to his libertine behavior. According to a Dragoon Officer who sits next to him during the feast, he is considered to be arrogant, condescending, inexperienced, but capable in both military sense and handling Tierran Tradition. One could say he is making hard effort to be friendly to a foreign country that is considered to be a second-rate power. After the feast, the envoy decided to visit King's Army in the north, appointing the said Dragoon Officer as his escort. Luring the Bear of Antar The fall of Kharangia makes Tierran threat become significant. Not only did they control the biggest port and strongest city defense, they are also posing threat to Octobirit, the capital of Antar. Seeing this, Khorobrit march his forces south from Mhillanovil in the Spring of 610OIE, hoping to retake the city. Some said the forces under Khorobirit is way larger than the force during Battle of Blogia. On his way to Kharangia, he dispatched 8000 men to lay siege to Fort Kharan, in an attempt to take out another Tierran outpost. Fortunately, the envoy that escorts Tarkaran ambassador arrived at Fort Kharan and resupplied did not enounter major opposition, and march to the camp of King Miguel's Army before the siege commenced. Havenport did not sit idle while Khorobirit's army marched on. He shore up defenses, burn down everything on the west side of Kharan River, destoryed all bridges while fortifying all the fords. A strategy which Havenport is a bit reluctant to use. As the result, Khorobirit's Army camped on the opposite of the Havenport's Army. Despite outnumbering Havenport four to one. Khorobirit refused to make further move due to the heavy defense. This is the opportunity King's Army is counting on. Not long after Khorobirit left Mhillanvoil, King Miguel ordered an attack to strike the town and hoping to capture the artillery pieces of Antari Army. With majority of men left with Khorobirit, the town offered little fight and surrendered. The victory had made Khorobirit not only trapped between two Tierran armies, but also forces him to move his supply route to the west, where the allied lords are less reliable to supply Khorobirit's army well. To make the matter worse, The siege in Fort Kharan is lifted when the Antari food stockpile got burned thanks to Experimental Corps of Rifles. Khorobirit is forced to move his stockpile to prevent another raid. Hammer Meets Anvil After occupying Mhillanvoil, King Miguel orders the forest near the town to be cut down and seasoned, hoping to create barges to transport his army via River Kharan and meet up with Havenport for the decisive battle. The plan carried out successfully, as Khorobirit did not expect the Tierran to use River Kharan as a mean of transport. However, such action is at the cost the health of Tierran common soldiers, whose ration for firewood halved for ship material during the winter. With the two armies met, Tierran force began to plan for the final battle. However, Tierran forces can only stand a chance against Khorobirit if they are on the defensive and guarding the fords, while Khorobirit is unwilling to cross under normal circumstances... This is when a raiding force comprised of 1st battalion of Grenadier Guard and a cavalry squadron hits Januszkovil, the fortress heavily guarded with Khorobirit wife and daughter taking residence. Tierran occupied the fortress in a relatively brief fight. But the well-beings of Khorobirit family remain uncertain, especially Khorobirit's daughter, the Lady Aleksandra of Khorobirit, who is last seen escaping the fortress with a group of Church Hussars. Januszkovil's fall forces Khorobirit to make a decision to cross the river or withdraw from the battle, as the fortress serves as a checkpoint for Antari supply line. Eventually, Khorobirit burn the remaining food stockpile and lead his army to cross River Kharan, hoping to crush Tirran force in a gamble and his line infantry, which most Tierran officers did not expect from Antari army, even under the command of Khorobirit. The battle was a bloody one, as both side realizes that this battle is a battle of destruction, either Antar or Tierra emerged victorious, while the other side got completely annihilated. Tierran forces was embracing the more brutal assault from Antari than Battle of Blogia. Some brigades and regiments were at the risk of destroyed, had Royal Dragoon not proves their worth as a reserve force and drove the opposition off. However, it is actually Lt.-Colonel Palliser of the White Rose Lancer, who led the Tierran cavalry charging the Antari crossing the seeming unguarded ford, does the tide turned (Palliser was given command of the cavalry ever since the commander-in-chief of cavalry, the Duke of Cunaris was unable to lead a cavalry charge as he's handicapped). Such maneuver is regarded as an ironic echo to the defeat at Blogia that Tierra had suffered years ago. By sunset, Tierra emerged victorious, with Antari army get destroyed as a fighting force and Khorobirit escaped only with his bodyguards. This is known as Second Battle of Kharangia. A bitter victory Although Tierra scored a major victory against Khorobirit forces at Kharangia, it still took two more years for the war to end. Thankfully, not one antari force is strong enough to oppose Tierran after the victory of the battle, as most member of Antari war parties got killed or captured when fighting for Khorobirit. Khorobirit is stripped of his command as Field Marshal of the League Congress and set upon by his old rivals, seeing his defeat made him an easy prey. Meanwhile, Antari serfs were transported to Tierran as spoils of war, while Havenport continue to push into the Antari Central Plain. However, it is Havenport's turn to suffer. The Oberlinder Riders of Central Plain keep harassing Havenport's supply train, forcing him to retreat to the shore and conquering all the port cities while marching to Octobirit. In the meantime, the financial burden on Tierra due to war effort instigated riots in Crittenden, which is put down when Ewen, the new Duke of Wulfram, promised to secure the food and fuel supply with his own fund. Later, a secret organization is passing out Anti-war pamphlets in the city of Aetoria, with words suggesting deposing King Miguel. Fortunately for Khorobirit, he managed to parried of the machination of his old enemies with a series of lighting strikes, and return to his land safely, though his line infantry deserves the credits, they suffered heavily loss due to previous battles and harsh weather. Finally, in desperation, Antar hastily assembled an army in a final attempt to push Tierran forces off the continent and to redeem himself, though the effort failed prematurely, as Havenport applied scorched earth tactics on the new, poorly organized army and they disintegrated due to low morale. Seeing this, the League of Antar had no choice but to surrender Yet, even the surrender does little to comfort Tierra, with Takaran intervenention, King Miguel was forced to drop or modify his more hardline demands for Antar during the Treaty of Octobirit. Although the victory is not what Tierra expected, at least they are satisfied with the treaty and returned home. The war ended, and peace is restored, well, mostly...